Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. / AP

by Catalina Camia and Susan Davis , USA TODAY

by Catalina Camia and Susan Davis , USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - By midday Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz's marathon protest of President Obama's health care law was one for the record books.

The Texas Republican had control of the Senate floor for 21 hours and 19 minutes to urge his fellow senators to defund Obama's signature domestic achievement. Cruz and other conservatives say the health care law is a costly intrusion into people's lives.

That put Cruz in fourth place on the list of longest Senate speeches, about three hours short of the Senate filibuster record set in 1957 by Strom Thurmond. The South Carolina lawmaker, then a Democrat, railed against a civil rights bill for 24 hours, 18 minutes.

"This is not a close call. Obamacare isn't working, and millions of Americans are hurting," Cruz said on Rush Limbaugh's radio show after ending his talkathon. "If the Senate listens to the American people ... we'll do the right thing and vote to defund it."

Cruz's goal is unlikely, given the Democratic control of the U.S. Senate and Obama's threat to veto a stopgap spending bill if it comes to his desk without any health care funding.

Cruz, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, was elected last year - the latest conservative with strong ties to the anti-tax, small-government Tea Party movement. Like his colleagues Paul and Marco Rubio, Cruz has made a splash in a short time.

The Texan has drawn fire for some of his tactics, including from veteran Republicans such as Arizona Sen. John McCain. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., dismissed Cruz's talkathon as "a big waste of time."

"We all admire the senator from Texas for his wanting to talk," Reid said shortly after Cruz simply sat down at his desk to end his protest. "With all due respect, I'm not sure we learned anything new."

As expected, the Senate took the first of a series of procedural votes aimed at adopting a spending bill to temporarily fund the government. Reid intends to take out House-passed language to defund the law known as Obamacare.

If Congress does not pass a spending bill before the end of the month, the government could face a shutdown Oct. 1.

Technically, under Senate rules, Cruz's talkathon was not a filibuster because he did not prevent the Senate from having its scheduled vote. As Cruz came to a close, he thanked his aides, Senate staff and Capitol police for being on duty throughout the night, likening the time spent by all to the Bataan Death March.

He implored the American people to hold their lawmakers accountable and push them to dismantle Obama's health care law.

"I simply want to note to the American people that this debate is in your hands," Cruz said. "Ultimately, all 100 senators ... work for you. The pleas from the American people, particularly in Texas, are deafening. The frustration that the United States Senate doesn't listen to the people is deafening."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the politics of the health care law have already been decided by voters and suggested Cruz's debate will no doubt play out again in the 2014 elections.

"There's a time and a place, as the scriptures say. We will certainly debate in the 2014 elections Obamacare," Schumer said. "We did in the 2012 elections, and not a single Democrat who voted for Obamacare in this Senate lost."

Cruz took control of the Senate floor around 2:41 p.m. ET on Tuesday, vowing to speak "until I am no longer able to stand." Overnight, he filled time by talking about the Revolutionary War, the battle against the Nazis, reading tweets from supporters and even reciting Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham.

Cruz also shared "words of wisdom" from the reality TV show Duck Dynasty and quoted much of country music singer Toby Keith's song Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.

In terms of time spent controlling the floor, Cruz lapped such legendary Senate talkers as Robert Byrd, Al D'Amato, Huey Long, William Proxmire and Robert LaFollette.

Paul said Wednesday that he congratulated Cruz for his efforts but joked he was in no hurry to try to pass him on the longest-speech list. "Not anytime soon," he said.

GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Florida's Rubio arrived before dawn Wednesday to ask questions of their fellow Tea Party disciple, so Cruz didn't have to speak the whole time - one of the quirks of Senate rules. Cruz could yield, so someone could ask a question, but not give up his control of the floor.

Cruz and Lee have led the defunding effort despite criticism from Senate Republicans who view their tactics as short-sighted because there is no chance of passage up against a Democratic-led Senate and Obama's veto pen.

A majority of Senate Republicans have said they opposed Cruz's tactics on the spending bill, partly out of fears they will be blamed for a government shutdown. That kind of finger-pointing happened more than a decade ago, when the GOP-controlled House led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich forced a 21-day shutdown in 1995-1996.

The chamber's top two Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said earlier in the week that they would not vote with Cruz.

"We'd all be hard-pressed to explain why we were opposed to a bill we were in favor of," McConnell said Tuesday.